Make It Work
by qongo
Summary: A series of one-shots/short stories looking into what the average night might be like for Burzek post season-finale as they slowly try to rebuild something.
1. Catching Up

**AN: Short look into the day-to-day of Adam and Kim putting things back together again. One-shot for now, let me know if you'd be interested in another chapter. It's my first time writing for PD, so please review and let me know what you think/other stories you might like to see.**

She collapsed into the sofa, exhausted. Taking care of her sister and Zoe was more than rewarding, and she was happy to be doing it, but damn if it wasn't exhausting. In the initial days when they were all still recovering emotionally, most days were spent in the apartment, eating comfort food and watching movies. As her sister had slowly begun to feel more like venturing out again, however, Zoe took full advantage and had them on the move as much as her mother was willing. And for Kim, that meant more trips to the zoo and the lake than she'd had in the past ten years combined.

It also meant thorough exhaustion at the end of the day. If it was a good day and they all spent it out and about, by the time they got home, Kim couldn't wait to put on her pajamas and enjoy ten minutes of quiet time alone before falling asleep. If it was a bad day and they spent it talking and healing, well God knows that was exhausting in its own way.

Today had been one of the former. Nicole had had a string of several good days together, and seemed to perhaps be on the incline permanently. Their parents had been waiting patiently for the go-ahead to host their daughter and granddaughter for a few days, both to support Nicole, and to ease some of the burden on Kim. Nicole and Zoe were driving up to see them that evening, which of course meant Zoe was determined to pack a month's worth of activity into today, as if they may never see each other again. By the time her sister and niece were on the road for the hour drive to her parents' house, it was almost 8:30 and she was already ready for bed. Her life hadn't exactly been exciting lately, but she was raised to believe family takes care of each other, and that's what she was determined to do.

She was damn close to falling asleep fully dressed and sitting upright on the couch when the startling ring of her phone broke the silence. She wearily dragged herself up and towards the kitchen, where she had unceremoniously dropped everything as soon as she was through the door. She felt a familiar flutter kick in as she saw the name on the screen. The name that never failed to make her just a little bit nervous, in the best way possible.

This wasn't an uncommon occurrence lately, an evening visit or call from him; ever since their reunion at the district after his undercover stint ended, they had slowly but surely returned to what their relationship looked like at its best days, before the complications and insecurities of engagement and marriage set in. They supported each other, made each other laugh, talked at the end of a long day, and knew somebody was in their corner.

Perhaps spontaneously kissing in front of the district wasn't the best reemergence into some kind of relationship, but they had stepped back again since that and were slowly rebuilding from the bottom up again. Kim didn't know exactly what they were, or what they were doing for that matter, as they had yet to explicitly address it. She did know, however, that she wasn't going to question it or push it. Knowing how thoroughly she had hurt him and destroyed the best relationship she'd ever had, having him back in her life in any capacity was more than she ever expected or was even sure she deserved.

She quickly accepted the call, realizing she had just been staring at the screen. "Hey," she answered, doing her best to sound casual, and failing as usual.

"Hi," he responded. She closed her eyes instinctually for a moment, letting herself enjoy the comfort of his soft voice on the other end. It remained the greatest grounding force she had ever had. "I didn't wake you, did I Grandma?" he chuckled.

She shuffled back over to the couch and settled in again. These conversations over the last few weeks had stretched for well over an hour at times and she certainly wasn't about to stand for the duration of it. "No, smartass. Damn near it though, that girl is going to be the death of me."

"Park or zoo?" he asked, having heard many times about Zoe's 'greatest hits' of entertainment around the city. "Both," she replied wearily. She heard him laugh lightly on the other end and as always, it brought a smile to her face. "Hey listen," she began, struck by an idea and wanting to get it out before she lost her nerve. "She and Nicole actually drove up to my parents' for the weekend and I desperately need a drink, so if you wanted to come over, um…well, you're welcome to."

The line was silent for a minute and she began to second-guess herself. He paused, debating how great an idea this really was. He had only been back to her apartment once since the break-up, and it was only for a few minutes the day after her sister's attack when he was running her around the city doing various errands. It was just as weird and difficult for him then as he expected it to be. He was really trying to get past it all and start fresh, but that was easier said than done some days, and being in a place they had made so many memories together didn't help. Intelligence was a minefield these days though, and he was really needing a friend and a drink.

"Only if you still have my Jameson in that bottom cabinet. I'm not driving over there for any damn wine."

She laughed, thinking about the ridiculousness of what she was about to say. "You're not going to believe this…"

"I swear to God, Kim, tell me you didn't throw it out or I'm hanging up right now."

"No, weirder. I drank it." It was a long-standing debate throughout the duration of their relationship. They both loved to have a beer together, but after a long day, he much preferred a healthy glass of whiskey, much to Kim's dismay, who couldn't stand the stuff. They lovingly bickered about it all the time, both figuring they'd probably never change the other's mind anyway.

He laughed disbelievingly. q "No fucking way."

"No joke. I was reorganizing the kitchen a few weeks ago and came across it. I figured why not, I'd never actually given it a fair chance before so I tried it. You're in luck though, because I actually liked it enough to buy another bottle. So you've got no excuse not to come."

He dragged himself off the couch, grabbing his wallet and keys as he moved towards the door. "Well I guess I'll just have to see this for myself."

She smiled at her phone for a moment after they hung up. A year ago she never would have thought getting this kind of friendship with him back again was remotely possible. He was the best thing she had ever had, and she was determined to make it work this time. Whatever 'it' currently was.


	2. Roughed Up

Kim walked into Molly's looking forward to a drink or two or several with her friends. Though she had seen a couple of the girls from 51 and Med and, of course, Adam on and off throughout her furlough, she hadn't had the kind of group night out that had become such a regular occurrence since before Nicole's assault, and she couldn't wait to get back to it. She was more than glad to help her sister and niece get back on their feet and she was committed to that for as long as it took, however the stronger they got and the closer to being back on their own, she realized how much she had missed all of this. Her job, her friends, her life.

Nicole and Zoey had just moved into an apartment a couple neighborhoods over to continue the healing process until they felt ready to talk about further next steps, so Kim was going out to celebrate being an "empty-nester" again, so to speak. Molly's was already in full swing, as it often was by this point in the evening. She could see several nurses from Med chatting with Gabby and Herrmann at the bar, but it was Kevin and Antonio at a high table in the corner who drew her over first. She and Atwater had only spoken via text while she'd been away and she was anxious to catch up.

She was intercepted by Halstead before she even made it there, on his way back with a tray of drinks. "Woah woah woah, excuse me—this is a first responders' bar miss, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She smacked him on the shoulder, "Very funny, smartass. I happen to be a first responder, I just needed a break from seeing your sorry face every day."

He laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Fair enough. It's good to see you again, Burgess. Too much testosterone around here without you."

"Look who wandered in!" he shouted, arriving back at the table. As expected, it was several moments before the jeers and hollering died down and she could actually say hello to everyone.

They all fell into conversation as easily as they always had, aided by the copious amounts of alcohol flowing. She caught them up on as much as she felt comfortable sharing about her sister's recovery, and she even heard an abbreviated version of all the drama surrounding Lindsay and Voight. It was sordid and confusing to say the least, but Halstead seemed relatively content at the moment and no one really wanted to get too deep into it when they were supposed to be celebrating.

She had missed them all more than she realized and the chance to unwind was doing her a world of good. Eventually, as it always did, the conversation turned to shop talk and catching her up on their most recent cases. Atwater and Halstead never let a story be told undramatized, and their retellings had Kim laughing harder than she had in a long time.

"So we're finally gaining on the guy, and he throws himself into a dumpster and starts burrowing into it, like we might not find him in a glorified box full of trash. So Al and I jump in…" On and on they went, filling in for each other and upping the ante whenever they saw fit. There was only one person who liked a good tale of his own heroism more than these two, and only thing Kim could think of that was missing from this group.

"Have you guys talked to Adam? I texted him this morning and asked if he was coming out tonight but he never answered me." She tried to throw it in there casually, so as not to attract suspicion from a group that loved to gossip and speculate, especially when it came to relationships in the unit.

She noticed the change in atmosphere immediately. The guys looked nervously at each other before not so subtly trying to recover and act natural. The telltale sign of men who have something to hide acting like they don't. "Um, yeah he caught a rough one today so I think he's probably just hanging out at home." Halstead took one for the team, trying to deflect suspicion form their very odd behavior. Kim was unimpressed.

"What are you talking about, 'a rough one'? You all seem perfectly fine."

"Look, it's not really our story to tell, ok? He just got a little roughed up today, that's why he's not here. He's alright, but reach out to him if you want to know more. He can tell you what's going on better than we can." He shrugged, turning back to the conversation behind him.

Needless to say, this did nothing to ease Kim's fears and while she was relieved that none of them seemed all that concerned, she learned a long time ago that that didn't mean much when it came to men and pain management. If one of their team was in real danger, they were as loyal and compassionate as anyone. Anything less than a bullet wound or kidnapping however, and a grunted "I'm good" was all it took to satisfy them.

She pulled out her phone immediately, trying not to look as desperate and panicked as she was. _The boys tell me you had a rough day. Everything alright?,"_ she fired off. Kim did her best to turn back to the conversation and continue enjoying her night out, especially once Gabby and several Med nurses made their way over, but when 45 minutes had past and she still had no reply from Adam, she decided it was time to call it a night. She said her goodbyes, trying to move at a pace that didn't signal to the whole group that she was rushing over to Adam's. Whatever delicate balance they had going right now did not need any interference, despite Kevin's endless attempts to reunite his two best friends.

As she made the relatively short drive over to his new apartment, a million and one terrible possibilities flashed through her mind, all of which involved him seriously maimed or dead, and she had to repeatedly remind herself that Halstead and Atwater would not have been so nonchalant if it was that serious. She was also struck, not for the first time, by the strength of her feelings that remained for Adam. Though she knew he always thought otherwise, their breakup was never about a lack of love on her end, but it still surprised her the fear that gripped her at the thought of him in danger, over a year after their split.

She hurriedly parked and jogged up the few steps to his door, knocking impatiently. As she waited, she briefly considered that perhaps calling again first would have been prudent. She felt fairly confident he wasn't seeing anyone else, but that didn't mean it was exactly appropriate to show up unannounced late at night. Not anymore.

"Who is it?" she heard from inside. "It's me," she responded. "You forgot how your phone works so I came to check on you." There were a couple beats of silence just long enough to make her doubt herself. "Look, if it's not a good time just say so and I'll leave. I just wanted to know that you're ok."

She heard more commotion inside. "Kim, it's fine, just give me a second, ok?" Before she could register why he would need this much time to get to his front door from the small apartment, the door was wrenched open. What she saw wasn't quite her worst fears, but it wasn't great either. "Oh my God, Adam, " she cried. "What the hell happened?" He was standing just inside the door, though he hobbled to the side, gesturing for her to come in. He was standing with the help of a crutch on one side, his knee and lower leg in a brace. His face was marred by several ugly bruises and she could see him moving with the telltale tenderness of someone with broken ribs, too.

"Ah, it's no big deal. Just another violent asshole on the streets of Chicago." He shuffled back to the couch, clearly trying to avoid use of the crutch, and dropped into it heavily, wincing slightly.

Kim couldn't help but be annoyed on top of her concern. She didn't expect him to come running to her every time he got a little roughed up, but this was serious and she had thought they were at a point now where that would be something he would share. Apparently not.

"You don't have to go into massive detail, ok? I'd just like to know why you look like this."

Adam sighed, leaning his head back wearily against the couch. He knew her more than well enough to know she was not about to let this rest. So he began a cursory explanation of the day's events.

It was a fairly slow day, all things considered, so they were all out in the field checking in with CI's before Voight was going to let them go early for the day. He stopped by a repair garage on the South Side where he knew a kid fairly deep in the drug trade. Adam had busted him for possession several times the previous year before the kid finally realized he would be smart to at least have a friend on the right side of the law, even if he wasn't completely there himself. And so Adam started consulting with him from time to time, keeping track of the major players.

He was chatting with him in the driveway, fairly casually he thought, when he felt blinding pain in the back of his legs that took him to the ground immediately. Before he could register what had happened, the assault continued, with his CI and another garage employee hitting him several times in the face and chest, the latter wielding a crowbar. It was all over in less than 30 seconds and the two were long gone. Adam was left incredibly disoriented and in shock as he struggled to radio for help and pull his gun to ward off any follow-up.

He reluctantly got checked out at the hospital, where they diagnosed him with a few broken ribs, which he was no stranger to, and a patellar fracture, or broken kneecap and instructions to rest for a few days then start some light exercise again. Needless to say, Adam was less than pleased, embarrassed he had let some punk and his friend get the jump on him, physically and mentally. He had thought the kid was a strong source, so he still couldn't figure out what had changed so quickly. He left the rest of his team to figure that out and decided to enjoy the time at home.

Until he heard the knock, of course, and found himself living the whole thing over again for Burgess. "Jesus, Adam." She laid a hand softly on his leg, just above where the brace ended above his knee. "You know, I gladly would've come over sooner and brought you dinner or something had you let me know."

"I know," replied. "I just didn't want to bother you. I'm fine, really—going to try to be back at work by the end of the week."

For some reason, his curtness and guardedness stung more than she thought it would. She missed the days where she would have been the first call he made. She twisted her hands in her lap, trying not to show it. "It's not a bother if you need help, Adam. I care about you, you know that."

"Well, I don't need help," he threw back, a little harsher than he intended, slightly defensive at the wording. "And I'm not your responsibility anymore, so I didn't want you to feel like I was."

She was off the couch in a heartbeat, hurriedly collecting her things. "Well thanks so much for that. Don't worry, I'll get out of your business. I hope your damn knee feels better."

He ran his hands over his face roughly, regretting his tone and pension for letting his mouth get ahead of his brain. "Nah, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry. Just come sit back down here, ok?" He patted the couch next to him.

"It's fine, really Adam. You're clearly better off alone right now." She turned her back and moved decisively towards the door.

"Hey, come on, are you really going to make me chase you like this?' She paused, knowing full well he absolutely would, and not wanting him to hurt himself further. Reluctantly she set her things down annoyedly on the counter and moved back to the living room, sitting as far away from him as possible in the corner of the couch. There were a couple minutes of silence, neither of them knowing whose turn it was to speak or what should be said. Eventually, Adam picked it up.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't call you, really." Now he was the one to look down vulnerably at his lap, avoiding eye contact and shutting himself off. "Sometimes I just get back to that place in my head where I felt like I had weighed you down and made you unhappy towards the end. And you know, we've been having fun like we always did, but I guess I just worried that getting you involved with something like this…well, that it'd feel the same way again."

She sighed, leaning forward to rest her head against his shoulder. With how well everything had been going between them lately, it was easy to forget just how far astray they had allowed themselves to get and how much hurt had crept in between them.

"I get that, Adam. I do, and I'm sorry. I just worry about you, you know? I always have, and that's not changing."

Adam wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer into his chest. "I know, darlin'. I think friendship between us has always been so simple that it's easy to forget all the history and how hard what we're trying to rebuild here actually is."

She leaned back to look at him better, smiling. "What a very enlightened analysis, Mr. Ruzek. Although I have to say, I'm still not completely convinced you just didn't want me to know because your fragile male ego was damaged.

He scoffed, feigning extreme offense before eventually chuckling, "Yeah that was definitely part of it. As I recall though, I used to get some _very_ good care around here when I'd come home injured," he smirked with a twinkle in his eye, both of them remembering many long days spent in bed enjoying each other when most other physical activity was off limits.

Kim smacked him lightly on the chest, disentangling herself from his arms to stand up and move towards the ktichen. "I don't know about any 'services' you speak of," she glared at him, both knowing they had a lot of work to do to get to that point again, "but I will make you dinner."

He put his feet up on the coffee table, queuing up Game of Thrones for them to watch once dinner was ready. "Fair enough, darlin'. Fair enough."


End file.
